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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Hello my friends. It has been a chilly weekend here in Southern Ontario, and today is most certainly the day to stay home and reconnect with you all out here in blog world.

We are having the very good fortune of enjoying one of the most mild winter seasons that I can remember. However, old man winter seems to always take the opportunity to remind us from time to time that he is still in charge and can make things completely miserable whenever the urge hits him. By that I mean he can throw everything he has in his arsenal at you all at the same time. The funny thing is though, we had the heads up or a fair warning by our so called meteorologists that a “powerful winter storm” was heading in our direction last Thursday. It was suppose to hit hard and wreak havoc overnight Thursday into Friday, and that a significant amount of winter chaos would take place over a 24 hour period. So I’m thinking, great, just in time to ruin two important events on my agenda this weekend; my sister’s birthday dinner on Friday night and a dear Uncle’s funeral on Saturday morning. For all intents and purposes, this so called “powerful winter storm” was anything but powerful, pretty lame at best, but it did still manage to make driving conditions dangerous. I was not able to travel Friday and was not able to be with my sister on her birthday, but thankfully the roads were clear enough for travelling on Saturday and I was able to get to my uncles funeral. I tell you though, in my next life I so want to come back as a weather girl because who wouldn’t want to have a job where you can be wrong 90% of the time and actually get paid for it. Seriously!

Now, not to tick old man winter off or anything I decided to colour a card especially for him.

I used my BV toned Copic markers to colour the image and tried to keep the colours soft but at the same time tried to maintain some depth. This beautiful little image totally screamed out for bling and you can see it in more detail in the below photo.

The cardstock that I used is a mix of Coredinations foundations and Bazzill’s textured. The darker background paper is from DCWV’s, The Far East Mat Stack. I used a Fiskars heart border punch, then added ribbon and a bow. The image itself was die cut into two different sized ovals using my SB oval die. For the finishing touches I added a touch of stardust stickles here and there, some pink and purple chalk to distress the edges of the ovals and a Stampin’ Up rhinestone gem on the ribbon bow. The “Make a Wish” sentiment was printed using my computer, traced over using a Lavender Atyou Spica pen and then cut out and matted.

I hope you liked my card today, and I really hope that old man winter isn’t too ticked at me for saying so many negative things about him. I really do wish though that spring is around the corner because I can’t wait to get out into my garden, which just happens to be another passion I have. So until we hook up again, please take care and thanks for stopping by :)S

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

It has been one week since my last post and I must admit it has been a busy one at that.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and that the sweetheart in your lives was especially good to you. For some it is just another day, but for me it has always been a day that I try to go that extra mile for loved ones. It doesn’t have to be a big deal or expensive, just something that you might not otherwise do on a regular day. A little love note on the bathroom mirror, in someone’s lunch or even a bunch of those pretty flowers that you usually see near the check-out line at the grocery store or it could be simply something sweet to eat. Yum, I do love chocolate!

February is also a big month for birthdays in our family as well as some girlfriends of mine. So far we have celebrated three family members, one of which is our little dog Lucy, who turned 11 this year. Yes she is family too, and I also celebrated two of my girlfriends b-days.

Lucy is our much loved Yorkshire terrier. She is such a character and certainly has a little attitude that’s for sure. I thought I would share my most favourite photo of her that I took when I was out in the back garden. She looked so beautiful amongst the creeping thyme that was in bloom at the time. She was patiently waiting for our resident chipmunk to appear as she always does. I thought it was a “Kodak moment” so I took the shot when she turned her head toward me once I called out to her. I just love this picture.

I still have one very important birthday left to celebrate and that is my truly amazing sister Jennie’s. This Friday, our family is supposed to go out to the Mandarin Restaurant for dinner. Jennie picked the place because of course it’s her day and here she can eat all the sushi she can handle. I don’t do sushi (yuk), but I won’t have any problems with all the other Asian cuisine on hand that’s for sure!

Enough bantering from me now and let’s get to today’s card which coincidently happens to be a birthday card. This little guy is called “Cheeky Sean” and I haven’t a clue what stamp company makes him. I’m pretty sure that I won him and picked him out of a bin somewhere??? Either way he is a funny little dude.

I coloured him with my Copic markers. The papers are all from my box of odds and ends which I either embossed or die cut in circles using my Spellbinder dies and/or both. I thought up the sentiment because he looked like he was swinging by on some vines to wish someone a happy birthday. I printed out the words using my computer and then used my SB circle dies to cut them out in different sizes. I tried to keep within the theme of the circles on the background paper.

On the inside of the card the sentiment reads … To Wish You a Happy Birthday.

I didn’t feel the need for any bling (except for the three jewels), but did use my trusty old friend Glossy Accents on his teeth and eyes.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The day has certainly started out sweet for my sister and I, as my husband had the bacon frying first thing this morning and made us all delicious blueberry pancakes to go with it.

There is nothing better in this world than when my Valentine cooks for me, and I mean that seriously!!!

We have a nice relaxing day planned as it is snowing lightly outside, and we really don't have anywhere that we need to be today. Oh yeah!

Jennie loved her card this morning as I had hoped she would, and loved her gift even more. We bought her the newest Twilight Episode, Breaking Dawn Part 1. We usually buy her flowers but lucky for us the DVD was released last Friday.

Who-ah, Who-ah, now I can finally see it.

I have a yummy dinner menu planned out for them and the only thing I need is for hubby to pick up a few groceries for me. The remainder of the day I hope to sit back and finally get to all those emails and/or blogs so that I can return some of that luv so many of you have been leaving me for me. Thank you so much, it is so nice to hear positive things about my work. I know how important it is for all of us to hear that from each other as it keeps us motivated. After that, I am sure I will need a little nap because the last time I looked there were quite a few to catch up on, especially over at The Outlawz. LOL ;)

In order for me to do that I best show you my card. I couldn’t post this before today because it’s the card I made for my husband. He follows my blog by email so I didn’t want him to see it before today, but now I can!

Allow me to introduce you to, Sophia.

When I finished colouring her with my Copic markers, and put the finishing touches on her all I could think of was, “Hello handsome, come here often?”

I used stickles on her dress, shoes, shawl and eyelids. Last, but certainly not least I used some glossy accents on that Cosmo she’s holding in her hand. I just love Cosmopolitan’s that’s for sure, and perhaps I just might have one this evening to commemorate this romantic occasion, hmmmmm now there’s a thought.

Isn’t she smokin’ hot?

Sophia is a Kraftin’ Kimmie stamp which I have been dying to use and chose this opportunity to use her for my Valentine’s Day card. I think she can be utilized for so many occasions, and I especially think she is great for any of the men in your life. You can adapt your sentiment to correspond with your occasion in particular, and simply print it out on your computer. Just a little note though, Sophia does not come with this particular sentiment, but it does come with Betty, which is also from Kraftin’ Kimmie stamps.

I found Sophia to be a wee bit hard to photograph because of all her bling, therefore I was not able to use my flash. My photos did not turn out as crisp as I would have liked even after some touch ups with Adobe Photoshop. She really does look so much better in person, so to speak.

Well my friends, I best be going if I want to start my blog hopping. Sophia and I would like to thank you all for stopping by The Creative Express Stops Here :)S

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Good afternoon everyone! I’m back from the great white north and I seriously mean it when I say great white north. Winter is certainly back with a vengeance this weekend and we managed to skirt all the snow squalls that have been streaming across the Great Lakes since yesterday and arrived home safe and sound.

I spent a little bit of time late last night catching up on all the amazing comments that I have been receiving from my new friends over at The Outlawz since I joined. Let me say a huge THANK YOU to all of you that took the time to welcome me, leave comments and/or join my blog. I would also like to say thank you for your patience with me as I learn how to navigate the site and for asking question upon question. I love learning new things but at this stage of my life (old dog/new tricks), along with a bit of confusion that stems from an illness sometimes it can be a tad bit hard.

I am truly taken aback by your kindness and encouragement. One can’t help but continue to create when you have a cheering section behind you like this one, whoa whoa!!! May I also mention that there are indeed some amazing artists on this site as well, and the fact that they are from all over the world fascinates me!!!! I think it’s just way too cool to be part of this connection.

Today I have a couple of non copic coloured cards to show you. I will likely enter one of them into the Clean and Simple challenge over on The Outlawz. This challenge intrigued me because I have always been such a simplistic person or minimalist if you will. If you personally know me than you already know that about me and can see it in many facets of my life; from the way I decorate our home, wear my hair and make-up, right up to this very blog . I come with a no frills, no muss no fuss attitude for my needs are few.

This simplicity carries over to my paper-crafting as well. I just don’t seem to have the ability to put cards together that incorporate multiple layers of paper and/or embellishments. I have tried to make them because some of those cards just amaze me, but I end up frustrated and find myself taking way too much time on a project. Thank goodness for those need a sketch websites, lol. I think people need to do what comes naturally to them and not try to be something that they are not.

Anyway, enough banter from me…my first card is an actual Valentine’s Day card and the second card I designed as a wedding invitation possibly. I am really playing around with the idea because I have made invitations for other events or special occasions in the past. I just like to have an sample book in case I ever get a request to do one.

I made this card using simple white and pink cardstock. Next I embossed some brown Core’dinations cardstock and lightly sanded it so that the pink core would come through. I used pink and cocoa ink to distress the edges. The ink, hearts and sentiment are from Close to My Heart. I like the way it turned out, (even though my stamping is a wee bit crooked in places, lol ;)

The card below I made using basic white and black cardstock to start with. Next I used my background sheet music stamp to make my own designer paper, ripped it and inked the edge. I used the ripped piece inside for added effect. The vine ribbon was purchased at an independent craft store up in St. Jacobs, Ontario called the Scrapping Turtle. The little pale yellow flowers believe it or not are actually from my wedding cake. I was married twelve years ago and just couldn’t throw out the beautiful fondant flowers. I knew there may come a day that I needed them ;) Go figure!

I am not sure which one of these I will be entering into the challenge as I think they both qualify as as Clean and Simple design so I think I will take some time to dwell on it.

That is about all for me today, once again thank you to all of you that took the time, will take the time to stop by and leave a comment. Please know it is truly appreciated. Fondly, :)S

Friday, February 10, 2012

Good morning and happy Friday everyone. Is everyone looking forward to the weekend? I know that I am, because I am heading up north to spend an overnight with my parents today. I haven’t seen them since New Years Day. I am blessed to be able to do that because on December 27th my Father suffered a heart attack early in the morning as we sat together having breakfast in the kitchen. Trust me when I say it was a surreal experience to watch things unfold as they did. Given my previous employment I have training in CPR and First Aid, and I was surprisingly cool, calm and collected. I knew exactly what needed to be done and for that I am eternally grateful to have that training and to the good Lord himself, for without him the situation could have turned out very differently. I am also heading up so that I can bring my sister Jennie back to spend the week with us here in Cambridge. If I haven’t mentioned this on my blog before, my sister is 35 years old and has Down’s Syndrome. Our home literally comes alive when she is here and we have so much fun together. It is usually a very busy week when she is here as I take her to get her hair done by my hair stylist, and we also split the time up by cooking or baking and make crafts together. I likely won’t be doing much blogging next week either, lol.

My parents live in the country and do not have high speed internet yet. It is totally 99 bottles of beer on the wall service if you know what I mean!!!!! I can’t believe they don’t as other residents 3 km away do, it seems they are totally at the mercy of Bell Canada. We have been able to upgrade it a wee bit with a Rogers turbo stick but it still works like pouring molasses outside in February. UGH!!!

Anyway, the reason I’m bring this subject up is because Jennie loves to watch music videos on her laptop. When she is here she can “YouTube” her lil’ ole heart out. In fact she does from the moment she unpacks her laptop right up until the very minute she packs it up to go home. Man oh man our GB usage goes off the charts when she’s here YIKES.

So today’s card is in honour of my sister Jennie. She loves every single occasion that comes along, especially Christmas, but for some reason she really loves Valentine’s Day too. My husband and I usually send her flowers, but because she will be here with us I thought I would make her a nice dinner, something sweet to eat and then give her this card.

I am trying my hand at my very first Digi image, and not only was she fun to colour but it was relatively easy to download her too. She is called Canary Love and is from the Saturated Canary Ragamuffins collection, isn’t she adorable? I came across her during one of my blog hop sessions and I was able to download her for free! Yes folks, I did say FREE, I am not 100% positive but I am pretty sure I had to sign up for something on the Saturated Canary website to get her, so hop on over there to get her for yourself too.

It goes without saying that I coloured her with my Copic markers and touched her up with all of my favourite gloss and glitz. Look at her gorgeous baby blues!!!!! I am really looking forward to giving her to my sister on Valentine’s Day. I hope she likes it.

I hope you enjoyed my card today, but I really have to run. I still have to pack my travel bag and hit the road because apparently “Old Man Winter” is going to pay us a visit today.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Hello everyone, and a very happy Tuesday to you all. I must say that I am back to the land of the living considering I had one very exhausting weekend away with my crafty peeps! Our time together never seems to disappoint and it is ALWAYS well worth the forfeited zee’s.If you read my last blog entry (Thursday) I mentioned that I was heading to Michigan for the Crop-A-Faire that was being held at the Hampton Inn in Sterling Heights, Michigan. It was actually the first time I attended this event but my crafty peeps have attended in the past which of course is how I learned all about it. It is organized and hosted by Amy of Card Shoppe Creations.

Let me say that it was a lot of fun and I was very impressed with the event. Who wouldn’t be impressed when your participating fee included all your meals, beverages and snacks starting on the Friday afternoon up to and including lunch on the Sunday.

What seriously impressed me though was when I noticed later on Friday evening that many of my fellow crafters where disappearing only to return shortly thereafter in their jammies to continue working on their projects and subsequent conversations. Also, starting on the Saturday afternoon we had an on site Massage Therapist available. I was even the lucky recipient of a 40 minute, totally stress releasing massage, compliments of my wonderful friend Darlene. She is so very generous and thoughtful. After I had my massage I went upstairs to my hotel room, I literally passed out for 2 hours. My friend and roommate Pat not only came to wake me up but came baring a gift……..dinner. I often think that I must have done something right for God to have sent me friends like that. Who could ask for anything more, seriously?

I had today’s card coloured up by the time I returned home from Michigan and actually put it together yesterday. I just was so darn tired by the end of the day that I couldn’t take the time to compose a post to you all and put it off until today.

This little cutie patootie is a Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamp called Puddles of Love. When I saw her she immediately brought me back in time to fond memories of being a child and jumping into a puddle. I actually remember splashing in every single puddle on my way home from school whenever I had the chance, so I just had to buy her. What’s with that anyway, why did we find things like that and over-size cardboard boxes so amusing???

I coloured her up with my Copic markers and then gave her the finishing touch by giving her coat, hat and boots some Glossy Accents. I wanted to create the appearance of traditional rain-gear or what is more affectingly known as, a slicker and rubber boots. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to, and several of the ladies that were sitting around me at the time I was colouring her up just loved the look too.

The designer papers that I used are from DCWV’s Citrus Collection. I pulled the colours from the primary matte and tried to use each one on something. I utilized both my Sizzix and Spellbinder dies, Sizzix embossing folder and various punches to create the butterflies and flowers, and lets not forget the addition of stickles here and there to make things complete.

Well that is about it for me today, I hope wherever you are in the world that your day is going according to plan and that you having a good one! I must get back to my next card for you, so until then take care and thanks for stopping by :)S

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Good evening crafty friends. I just found out today via Facebook that some pretty awesome people we know are now celebrating the birth of their beautiful little boy. Welcome to the world little Austen!!

I thought I would whip up a little card so that I will have it at the ready when we get the chance to meet him. I can’t wait to get out and buy him something really cute. Congrats to Mom and Dad as well, we are so very happy for you both.

For this card I used myKraftin’ Kimmie Stamp called Baby Bubble Bath. I think the image is so adorable and what I really like about it is it can easily be adapted for a little boy or a little girl by simply changing the colour of the paper. Girlie paper or boyish paper it’s that simple.

It was pretty much a “no muss no fuss” kind of card, meaning I didn't use a lot of embellishments. It was coloured with my Copics, and I used glossy accents on the water, boat, ducky and bubbles. I also added a little button, some gingham ribbon and distressed with a wee bit of green and yellow chalk. I would have loved to have added an old fashioned baby diaper pin but I can’t find those anywhere nowadays. Perhaps I should go antique hunting for one, lol ;)

I think the next time I colour one of these I will tone down the blue on the bubbles because it didn’t turn out like a foamy bubble bath. Perhaps there is even a product on some crafty shelf somewhere out there that will create that effect and I haven’t been introduced to it yet. It really wouldn’t surprise me if there is.

I am going to keep my post brief tonight because I’m still packing for another weekend away. I am heading to the Crop-A-Faire Weekender that is taking place at The Hampton Inn in Sterling Heights, Michigan. I am tagging along with four of my favourite people in this world, and it is always fun to be together with them, there is never a dull moment. We are hooking up with the fifth one in our little group stateside as she lives there. Memories haunt me though from the last time we crossed the border together. I learned a very hard lesson about checking your passport before and after you get home. It’s truly a funny story (after the fact that is), and I would share it with you but it would take way too long, perhaps I will share it with you one day….. perhaps!

I will be bidding hubby a fond farewell at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, leaving him all alone with our little Yorkie Lucy and the 60” TV set. It’s Super Bowl weekend and he doesn’t have to share the TV and I am sure he is delighted that our event is the same weekend. It’s a win win situation for both of us!

I am not the biggest scrap booker in the world and I much prefer colouring with my Copic markers and creating greeting cards. I have stamped a ton of images to colour while I am there as I thought it an excellent opportunity to get ahead of the game. This way I will have several finished images at the ready for assembling cards at a later date. Rumour has it too that there will be a masseuse on the site for my tired neck muscles, and boy oh boy this is good news cuz even though colouring is fun to me it is hard on my neck, big time.

So my friends, let me bid you goodnight. Take care and come back soon to see what I coloured up for you while I was away. Thanks for stopping by :)S

Guest Designer

I'm a winner

About Me

In 2000 I was stricken with a life altering illness that ended my professional career in law enforcement. You think your life is going according to plan, and then one day you wake up and it all changes. I have many physical disabilities that rob me of my independence. After overcoming many hurdles there came the day when I desperately needed to find something meaningful to do with my time. It had to be constructive, challenging, and had to keep my brain active. I tried so many different things that just didn’t light that spark, so I kept trying new things and so on. One day I found myself dabbling in the paper crafting world where I developed a passion for Copic Marker colouring, and guess what, I found that spark. Now I have a new passion, a new direction wherein that I want to learn more and more.
If somebody had of told me that I would eventually create a blog and display my artistic abilities within it I would have told them they were off their rocker! However, I didn't get here alone; together with the love of a wonderful man, a truly amazing family, my masterful friend Sean, and along with some awesome and wacky women friends, I was able to get it together.